The Lion's Protector and Mate
by rosewhip889
Summary: Summary inside. Lion-O/OC. Rated M for mature. Contains romance, adventure, comedy.
1. It Begins

Hey guys, long time no see! Okay, so here's the sitch; I had to move out of my mother's house back in February of 2015 due to her boyfriend at the time threatening to kill me, my daughter's father and take my daughter away from me. Then, when I went to start typing on my desktop-where ALL of my other stories at-I find out that the video card has died. I decided to start over from scratch when my daughter's father-my ex boyfriend-beat me back in June of 2015 all because he was in a drunken rage and I wouldn't let him hold the baby because I was afraid that he might hurt her. Which then led to my daughter and I having to move back in with my mother and her boyfriend-who she recently got rid off because he threatened both her and my younger sister and I have damn near NO INTERNET. So, all of my other stories are now, officially, on permanent hiatus, until I can get a brand new PC, because the combined efforts of my father and my mother's ex-boyriend killed both mother board and hard drive in it. *sighs* Oh well, moving on! Also, this takes place during and after the 1985's series; it starts in the episode with the brutemen; don't remember which episode that is, but we shall find out, won't we? Now, Lion-O, if you would please read the disclaimer!

Lion-O: I would be delighted. **ROSEWHIP889 DOES NOT OWN THUNDERCATS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; SHE MERELY OWNS THE OCS AND THE NON-THUNDERCAT PLOTLINES.**

That's right! If I did, then no one would be able to really see Lion-O much.

Lion-O: *blushes*

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Summary: Ever since she turned 21, Emma Rossin has had weird dreams of a cat-like man on a strange planet. Then she is one day captured by mutants and taken to Third Earth to work as a slave alongside the brutemen. When the ThunderCats arrive to rescue the brutemen, she escapes but is injured in the process. When she is found, she is found by none other than the man who has been haunting her dreams! It is then she finds out why she's been dreaming of him; it is her duty to protect and keep him safe. Can she do this _and_ keep from falling in love with the strange lion-like man, or is it already too late? Rated M for blood, adult language, innuendoes, violent scenes, and lemons. Lion-O/OC.

Action

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 _Dream sequences_

The Lion's Protector and Mate

Chapter One: It Begins

~STORY START~

~ENTER DREAM~

~EMMA'S P.O.V.~

 _Clawed hands gently cupped my face as the owner's lips met mine in a slow, gentle and lover-like way. The hands left my face and roamed down my body in an almost exploratory manner as the lips pulled away from mine and I opened my eyes to meet ginger-orange eyes, filled with love and adoration, staring down at me. Long, wavy scarlet-red hair fell over his shoulders and my eyes fell onto his thick, muscular chest and abdomen, covered in caramel fur. My eyes wandered over his build, taking in all the muscles that this man had and then locking back onto his face. The fur around his eyes and mouth was a light-cream colored and he had black tear-drop markings right below his eyes. The only thing that he was currently wearing was a loincloth, leaving nothing to the imagination; I wore only my bra and underwear._

 _Reaching up, I gently laid a hand on the left side of his face and rubbed the sideburns on that side, smiling softly as he closed his eyes and let out a gentle purr. My hand then traveled up to his forehead, where I entwined my fingers in the hair that formed his heart-shaped hairline. Combing my fingers through his hair, I sat up as he leaned back and met his lips again, this time of my own accord. He gently traced the claws on his right hand down my side and I inhaled sharply as pleasure swept through me. I placed my hands on his chest and played with the soft fur. I felt a growl emanate from his chest and he gently pushed me back down onto my back._

 _"If you don't stop teasing me, I may not be able to go slow and gentle with you." He said, his voice deep and rough with arousal, causing me to shiver._

 _"Who said I wanted it to be slow and gentle?" I teased softly and he roughly captured my lips, nipping my bottom lip with his fangs, drawing blood in the process._

 _He pulled back and I watched as he licked my blood off his fangs before he snaked his arm underneath my back and unclipped my bra. He pulled away a bit and I raised an eyebrow as I watched him grab ahold of my underwear, using his fangs, and bit through the straps one at a time. When both straps were broken, he slid them out from underneath and I gave him a glare._

 _"That was my favorite pair." I said and he nuzzled the right side of my neck._

 _"I'll get you some new ones, don't worry, love." He murmured and his voice against the side of my neck sent chills down my spine._

 _"You know, it's not fair that I'm completely naked and you're still wearing your loincloth." I said before kissing his right temple and he sat up, pulling me with him._

 _"Then... let's correct that." He stated and before I knew, he was lying on his back with me sitting on his stomach._

 _I blinked at him in surprise before turning to look at his loincloth. I could see his member was straining against the fabric, and I quietly gulped in sudden nervousness before reaching down and slowly undid the straps. When the straps were untied, I removed the fabric and his member sprang into the air and I couldn't help but gawk at it. It was_ huge _! Not only was it thick, but it was a good eight inches._

 _"Um... you sure that's gonna fit?" I asked and I heard him laugh before feeling him sit up and he wrapped his muscular arms around me._

 _"I'm positive; we'll just take it nice and slow." He said and I turned my head to face him. After a couple of seconds, I nodded and melded my lips with his before suddenly finding myself looking up at him again; he had switched out positions. He reached over to the desser next to his bed, opened the drawer, and pulled out a small bottle. He uncapped it and smeared some of it on his fingers before kneeling down between my thighs. Placing a kiss to the inside of one of my thighs, he slowly pushed one of his fingers inside my wet core and my back arched up off the bed._

 _A gasp escaped as he curled his finger, brushing a spot that made pleasure shoot down my spine and caused me to see stars. He paused, seeing my reaction, and then started to stimulate that spot. He added another finger and started scissoring, causing the entrance to widen to allow for something much larger than a finger to enter._

 _"Do you enjoy that, love?" He asked as he added a third finger, bringing about some discomfort that quickly went away as he curled all three digits, brushing that one sopt and the pleasure was more intense than it had been last time._

 _"Do... that... again." I panted lightly as the pleasure fled, and he leaned down to gently nip at my thigh._

 _"Patience, love, patience." He murmured, his hot breath hitting my leg, and I gave a small scoff._

 _"Speak for yourself there, buddy boy." I said, regaining my breath, and he chuckled._

 _"Point taken. Now..." He dwindled off as he removed his fingers, leaving me to feel empty, and I whimpered at the loss, only for the whimper to be completely cut short as I felt something stiff brush against the lips of my core. "Are you ready, my Queen?" He finished, and I moved my head, my eyes meeting his molten gaze, and I nodded._

 _Slowly pushing, he slid inside, briefly stopping at a barrier before pushing past, breaking it and sending a jolt of pain through me, causing tears to spring, unbidden, to my eyes, and I closed them, hoping to hide the tears before he noticed them. From the sudden stillness and then the feeling of a tongue sweeping across my eyes, I'd say that I failed. I heard a small deep-throated purr and I opened my eyes back up to see him staring down at me, adoration and love bright in them._

 _Catching my breath, I nodded to him and he gave a nod back before he slowly finished sliding all the way in. He paused for a couple minutes to allow me time to adjust to his size before he started thrusting at a slow pace. It was a little weird at first, being underneath this magnificent cat-man while he made love to me, but that soon went away as he sped up, he brushed against that spot again and I twitched as white-hot pleasure raced down my spine._

 _I let out a breathy moan, and he began angling himself so that he would hit that spot with each thrust. As his speed increased, I became emboldened and bucked upwards with my hips; that allowed him to slide in even deeper and he moaned an almost animalistic growl at the sensation. He placed his claws on either side of my head and began to pound into me. Leaning down, he placed butterfly kisses on my left shoulder, heading towards my neck and once he reached the junction of my neck and shoulder, he began to lightly nip at it._

 _I moaned and bucked again, this time in sync with his thrusts, and as I did, he collided with that spot inside and my vision flashed white as heat soared inside me and my insides quivered before exploding. As this happened, he threw his head back and released a loud and mighty roar as he slammed into me one more time before I felt him quiver and then I felt an extreme heat, hotter than what I had just experienced, fill me as he lowered his hed back down and his jaws clamped down on the junction, biting hard, and I felt a small trickle of blood travel down my shoulder. I gasped and that flooding feeling happened again as he continued to pulse within me. After what felt like an eternity, he finally collapsed on top of me, completely spent, as I was close to being one with the sheets, as I was spent as well. He lifted his head and examined the mark, which was still lightly bleeding, before he licked the mark clean._

 _"Well, if anyone doubted before, they won't be able to now; you belong to me, my Queen, and I to you." He said and I couldn't respond. "Are you okay, Emma?" He asked and I nodded._

 _"As well as can expected to be, dear." I said, and he gave a small tired laugh before rolling towards my right and landing on the bed next to me. I gently rolled over onto my right side and snuggled up to him, my left arm gingerly going across his midsection as his left hand began to play with my hair._

 _"Emma, dear, what would you think about the possibility of cubs in the future?" He asked and I looked up at him._

 _"Well, I think that we should be patient, my dear Lord." I replied and he rolled over onto his left side, causing me to face him and move myself from his person._

 _"You know that patience is not my strong suit, my dear." He said and I gave a small laugh._

 _"I know that all too well, my love, especially your tendency to run off into battle without making a plan first." I teased, and his caramel face turned a little darker before he raised his right hand and pushed me over onto my back, causing me to laugh at his childish actions. "Besides, why do we need cubs right now? You already act like a child!" I said, laughing as he stuck his tongue out at me before he grabbed me and pulled me on top of him so that I could lie on top of him, still covered by the blanket._

 _"You're so funny my love, that I forgot how to laugh." He said drily, and I merely replied by kissing his throat. "Seriously, though, cubs. What are your thoughts on them?" He asked seriously, and I placed my chin on his chest, looking him in the eyes._

 _"We can't really plan right now, not with Mumm-Ra and the mutants running amok, but anything can happen, my dear L-"_

~END DREAM~

My eyes snapped open and I shot into a sitting position, my sheets soaked with sweat and other bodily fluids that I will not talk about; what the _fuck_ was _that_?! That was, like, the 8th or 9th freaking dream that I have had since I turned 21 two weeks ago, and in every single one, I'm with that lion man, whether it be in a... sexual position, taking a walk through a garden with me appearing heavily pregnant, hanging out, or fighting mutants and protecting the other inhabitants on some distant planet, and it was _really_ starting to get aggravating. Not to mention, in every dream, whenever I was either getting ready to speak his name, he would, or someone else was going to announce his name, I would wake up; all I know is that the first letter of his name is L.

Groaning out loud, I grabbed my face with my right hand and rubbed my eyes furiously; this was getting ridiculous! Giving a low growl, I threw my covers off of me, got off the bed, and stalked towards my bathroom. Flipping the switch, light filled the bathroom and I looked at myself in the mirror.

I didn't really see anything special about myself, not with my plae blonde-almost white-hair with natural black highlights, my light skin, and my amber-colored eyes. Hanging around my neck on a gold chain was a pendant with a red center that had a black cat head that was roaring. It was a gift from my great-grandmother, the person who raised me after my parents were killed by mutants; mutants liked to raid planets and kidnap people to keep and use or sell on other planets as slaves, and we would never know when they would strike.

Groaning in exasperation, I walked back into my room and grabbed some clothes so that I could take a shower. Climbing in, I scrubbed myself almost raw while trying to forget my dream, but I could still feel his hands-or claws-still on me, and it was almost as if no matter how much I would scrub, the feeling of his hands on me would never fade. Giving up, I finished showering, turned the water off, and dried off before pulling on my underclothes and then adorning a blank red t-shirt, a pair of blue Capri's, and a pair of hiking boots. Grabbing my keys, and making sure that my necklace was still around my neck, I headed out, making sure to lock my door behind me.

Heading off down the road, I didn't really have a destination in mind, but I needed to get moving to hopefully help to get my mind off of that godforsaken dream. With no real destination in mind, I tucked my hands in my pockets, enjoying the slight breeze blowing through my hair when, suddenly, it turned into a huge gust of wind, causing leaves to blow into my face. I brought my arms up to cover my face, wondering exactly _what_ was going on.

"Run! It's the mutants!" I heard screams of terror fill the air, and my head snapped up in horror.

Sure enough, landing about a hundred yards away from me, was the _**ugliest**_ ship that I had ever seen. It almost looked reptillian in design, with the ship being a reptile green color. Suddenly, I watched as a door slid open, and mutants came pouring out. There were giant lizards, monkeys, vultures, and jackals, all walking on two legs, and they towered over my five foot and four inches. Suddenly, one of them pointed at me, and I turned to run.

I had taken maybe ten steps when something wrapped around my ankles and I slammed, face first, against the ground, and the ground shook as something ran up to me. I tried to crawl away as fast as I could, but when something grabbed the back of my shirt, I quickly tucked my amulet down into my bra so that they hopefully wouldn't see it.

"Look, Commander, this one looks strong!" I looked over my shoulder to see one of the jackals holding onto my shirt; I squirmed and tried to grab ahold of its wrist.

"Let me go, you poor pathetic excuse of a dog!" I yelled as mutants swarmed past me, chasing after the other people, before the police showed up and began to open fire upon the mutants.

"Looks like we're only getting the one slave this time around. Jackal, hurry up and let's go!" A lizard shouted and the jackal started dragging me towards the ship.

Desperation filled me, and I reached out and slammed my fist right between his ribs; he dropped me with a yelp and I quickly tried to untangle whatever it was that was wrapped around my shins. It looked like a bolo, but before I could even get it unwrapped halfway, I felt a searing heat shoot past my right arm, and I jerked; they had just fired around me, grazing me in the process. Ignoring the pain, I continued to untangle the bolo, and when it was finally undone, I stood up, and took off running.

I was a couple yards away when, suddenly, I felt white-hot pain as something pierced my right leg and my left arm; they had just shot me, and I was now defenseless. I hit the ground, hard, and my blood started to stain the normally green grass red.

"Monkian, grab the human girl, and let's go! Knock her out if you have to!" I peered over my right shoulder in time to see a monkey walk up. Raising his fist, he brought it into play against the back of my head, and I fell into instant darkness.

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Whoo, holy crap! I hope that this chapter can make up for lost time! However, please do not blame me if I don't hold my breath; I was gone for a good while, which I profusely apologize for. Please let me know what you guys thought about this chapter/story, and what I can do to improve it!

 **Remember, no flames, because all flames will be fed to the demons of hell.**


	2. The Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr

Chapter two of "The Lion's Protector and Mate!" This is the chapter where it joins with the show. This chapter will show moments here and there where the mutants first land on Third Earth, but it will primarily begin in the 4th episode, "Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr." Also, I forgot to mention; almost every chapter will start off with a dream sequence, unless I say otherwise. Now, for the disclaimer. Tygra, if you would please.

Tygra: Of course, miss. *clears throat* **ROSEWHIP889 DOES NOT OWN THUNDERCATS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; SHE MERELY OWNS THE OCS AND THE NON-THUNDERCAT PLOTLINES.**

Summary: Ever since she turned 21, Emma Rossin has had weird dreams of a cat-like man on a strange planet. Then she is one day captured by mutants and taken to Third Earth to work as a slave alongside the brutemen. When the ThunderCats arrive to rescue the brutemen, she escapes but is injured in the process. When she is found, she is found by none other than the man who has been haunting her dreams! It is then she finds out why she's been dreaming of him; it is her duty to protect and keep him safe. Can she do this _and_ keep from falling in love with the strange lion-like man, or is it already too late? Rated M for blood, adult language, innuendoes, violent scenes, and lemons. Lion-O/OC.

* * *

Action

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 _Dream sequences_

The Lion's Protector and Mate

Chapter Two: The Slaves of Castle Plun-Darr

~STORY START~

~EMMA'S P.O.V.~

~DREAM~

 _Sunshine was filtering down through the trees as I walked down a path that lined the many fruit trees. I held out a hand and brushed my hands over the leaves of one fruit tree, exposing the candy cane shaped fruit that grew on it. Picking the fruit, I bit into it and nearly moaned at how delicious the fruit was. The sudden noise of twigs cracking drew my attention and I looked up to see my tall lion-man walking towards me, his gentle gaze on my form._

 _"You know, that moan of yours is a big turn on." He said gently as he reached my side and I gave a small laugh._

 _"Yeah, well, you have cravings and see what happens when you're able to fulfill them." I said and he wrapped his arms around me, resting his hands on the small swell that took residence between my hips._

 _"I still can't believe it. I still can't believe that in here is a life growing." He said softly as he buried his nose into my hair and I leaned my head back against his shoulder._

 _"And to think that all it took was the very first try. Either you have some very good luck, or you're just extremely potent and I'm extremely fertile." I said and he purred in response._

 _I fell silent and was just content to listen to the birds sing as they flew around, creating their nests. It had been some time since the mutants had last created mischief, and I was grateful for the quiet, because whenever they caused problems, my lion and his friends sequestered me away at the Cat's Lair so that I wouldn't be in harm's way, due to the life form that was growing inside me. It was still strange to me, that there was life growing beneath my navel, and at times, it weirded me out a little, but I quickly got over it._

 _"You're awfully quiet, Emma. What are you thinking about in that pretty head of yours, my love?" He asked, breaking the silence, and I twisted in his arms to look him in the eye._

 _"I was just thinking that it's nice to be able to get out and stretch my legs for a little bit; I can only walk around Cat's Lair for so long before I start to go crazy from cabin fever." I said and he sighed._

 _"I'm sorry about that, but we don't want to risk you or the baby getting hurt; I was the last one born before Thundera exploded." He explained and I gave him a small, sad smile._

 _"I understand. Really, I do, but place yourself in my shoes; would you be content if you weren't allowed to leave Cat's Lair for extended periods of time?" I asked and he thought about it for a minute before sighing and then shaking his head, his scarlet mane following the movement._

 _"No, I wouldn't. I'll see if we can get you outside to get more sun, but we'll have to be careful; if anything happened to you or the baby,_ nothing _would be able to protect those responsible from me." He said and I placed my cheek against his chest._

 _"I know, my big, brave lion. I know." I said and his arms tightened as he pressed a kiss to my head. We stayed like that for a couple more minutes before we were interrupted by his sword activating. He quickly released me and unsheathed his sword._

 _"Sword of Omens, give me Sight Beyond Sight." He ordered as he brought the hilt up to his eyes. I watched in amazement as his eyes glowed before he narrowed them and then widened in shock._

 _"What's wrong, L-"_

~END DREAM~

The sudden jerking of the floor beneath me roughly brought me back to wakefulness. I opened my eyes to see that I was lying on a dark brown floor that was cold but also warm to the touch. Lifting my head, I winced as pain exploded in the back of my skull, and I raised a hand to touch the back of my hand, only or the movement to be cut short as I heard chains jingling. Taking a look at my arms, I stiffened in shock when I noticed that they were shackled; what the hell?! A quick look at my ankles showed the same thing; I was shackled, and I didn't have a clue why.

Looking up, I saw a giant lizard staring at me through bars and I inhaled sharply as the memories returned; I had been kidnapped by mutants, and it looks like they were going to turn me into a slave. I met the lizard's look with a dark glare, and the thing only grinned.

"Slythe is going to have fun breaking you, human." It said in a slithering male voice, and I narrowed my eyes even more.

Casting a look around, I saw that I was in a cell, and that my arms and feet were shackled to the floor. The chains looked like they were long enough and the cell was big enough to allow me some standing room and movement, so I slowly stood up, taking my time because of the throbbing in the back of my head. All of a sudden, the whole ship shuttered before alarms started going off; the hell was going on?!

"Quick, Slith, grab the slave; the ship is sinking! I don't care how you carry her, knock her out if it would be easier to do so!" I heard a lizard's voice rasp out over the intercom and the lizard Slith walked forward, and I watched as he picked up what looked to be like an almost primitive cattle prod.

As he approached the cage, I tried to back away, but the chains would only let me go so far, and with me being chained up, I wouldn't be able to defend myself, and let's not forget that I don't have a weapon; my great-grandmother trained me how to fight and defend myself with a naginata. I usually carry it around with me, but the day that the mutants arrived, I left it home, and I'm pretty sure that Grandma Terice is rolling in her grave, because that was the very first rule that she taught me; never leave home unarmed. The lizard stopped advancing, and as I watched, touched the prod against the floor. At first nothing happened, but then...

An electric current swept up throught the chains and struck me, causing my muscles to lock in place and my mouth opened as a shril scream ripped itself free from my throat. After 5 seconds, the electric current went away, but then I felt a prick in my right arm and I looked down to see a dart embedded in it; the lizard had shot me with a tranquilizer dart. As the effects of the dart began to take effect, I sank to my knees and then fell over onto my side.

Distantly, I felt arms pick me up and throw me over a shoulder, my arms and legs still shackled, and then the feeling of someone running with me in their grasp made me nauseous, but I somehow managed to keep from throwing up. I closed my eyes, and I lost all sensation as the tranq finally took effect, and I passed out.

~TWO DAYS LATER~

The feeling of cold stone behind my back was the first thing that I could feel. I opened my eyes, and nearly screamed out in fear as I saw large, brown creatures lumbering around in a cell next to me. Jumping to my feet, I stumbled as the world spun from moving too fast. I fell to my knees, and my stomach surged. I threw up nothing but stomach acid from not having anything to eat; how long had I been out? I vaguely remember that fucking lizard Slith shooting me with a tranq, but how much time had passed? Suddenly, I heard footsteps, and I looked over my shoulder to see the mutant Monkian, the one responsible for knocking me out and for kidnapping me from my world, walking into my cell.

"Where... where have you taken me, and what have you done to me?!" I exclaimed, my voice coming out harsh seeing as how my throat was still rough since I had just thrown up. The mutant merely hooted.

"You're on Third Earth, human, and you're here to help the other slaves build Castle Plun-Darr." He replied, hooting between every other word, and I gritted my teeth before his words registered and I froze with shock; Third Earth?! It actually existed?! Then, does that mean... that the lion-man from my dreams could possibly exist?! Monkian snapped a whip and then pulled on a chain that, I hadn't noticed until now, was connected to the shackles attached to my feet and arms. "Now, slave, get to your feet, and get to work!" He ordered, jerking on the chain, causing me to fall backwards with a yelp before I scrambled to my feet.

I followed Monkian against my will, and watched as he attached my chains to a long line of chain, with the large brown creatures in front and behind me. He snapped the whip, which forced the creatures to start moving, in turn making me move. I didn't have a clue as to what we were doing, but all I could do was go with the flow if I wanted to get out of this _without_ getting hurt. We were led to a quarry, where Monkian, a jackal, and a lizard all held different forms of weaponry, and it was also here that Monkian traded his whip for a mace-type weapon, one that had a handle and the mace dangled from it on a chain.

"Now, slaves, cart all this stone back to Castle Plun-Darr, and resume building it, _now_!" The lizard hissed as the jackal brandished a club, and the creatures got to work, picking up stones larger than me and placing them in the cart while I could only pick up the stones I knew that I could carry.

Thus was my life for the next few days, or was it weeks? I'm not sure because I've lost count; what I do know was that the castle was almost done. I had been able to avoid some trouble, but I still received lashes for not moving fast enough; as it was, I currently had a gash on my right arm that was closed, but was beginning to look infected. It was one day that, on the way back to the castle, there was... trouble. One of the creatures stumbled and fell, the poor thing too tired to move, and the mutants all attacked it.

"Get up and move, you lazy Bruteman!" Jackalman demanded, and I did something really stupid; I jumped forward to try and save it.

"Leave him alone!" I demanded, shoving Monkian out of the way, and placed myself over the Bruteman. "Can't you see he's tired?! He's not going to be able to do what you want when he can barely move, you fucking idiots!" I shouted, my anger getting the best of me, and the mutants lashed out.

Monkian brought his mace into play and, with one swipe, sent me to the forest floor, ripping a nice sized piece of skin from my back with the swipe, before he sauntered off into the firest. Jackalman slammed his club against the right side of my back and I screamed as I felt some ribs break. I gently rolled onto my left side and curled into a ball as much as I could while the beating continued. Slithe stomped on my left arm, breaking it, and the pain was almost nothing like I had previously known. My eyes shot open as a scream ripped itself free from my already damaged throat. About that time, I saw two young figures in the trees, but they were far enough away that I couldn't see them clearly. Jackalman picked a foot up and slammed it down onto my right side; bloody spittle flew from my mouth. My vision flashed before I feel a foot connect with my back and I'm being rolled over onto my face.

"Get up, you lazy human!" It's a chore, but with only my right arm the good one, I manage to push myself to my knees, my entire midsection and back feeling as if they're on fire. I limp back over to the cart and the Bruteman chained to it, gently lays a hand on my right shoulder to help steady me; I gave him a nod of thanks

It felt like an eternity before we reached the castle, and we were forced back to work. Blood was trickling down my back as I helped a bruteman move stones with only one good arm, while the other one was kept close to my chest. Suddenly, Monkian and Jackalman walked up, swinging their weapons.

"Build up a wall, you lazy hulks!" Jacklman ordered, and we were forced to stop working on the ramp leading to the castle and began building a wall; were they expecting an attack or something? When the wall was nearly completed, Slithe ordered for us to be locked up; yeah, I'd say that they were expecting an attack, and was getting ready to set up an ambush. We were all escorted back to our cells, and when my door was closed and locked behind me, I stumbled to a corner, lowered myself down, and closed my eyes, ready to pass out. I must have, because the sounds of doors opening and a male voice ringing out. I kept my eyes closed, because I didn't want to get my hopes up in case it turned out to be a trick.

"So this must be where they hold the brutemen captive! But where is that human that WilyKit and WilyKat said that they saw?" The voice sounded familiar, and I cracked open an eye; was WilyKat and WilyKit the two young ones I saw earlier?And they sent help?! Maybe there is a god, or whichever deity, after all.

"I'm... in here." I called out, a little weak, and when the face appeared, my heart stopped, for it was the lion-man from my dreams that I saw looking in at me. Shock filled his heart-shaped face before he somehow managed to force the door open, and I somehow managed to stand up, despite the fact that I was covered in blood.

He walked in and my breath caught in my throat, which sent me into a coughing fit, because he looked _exactly_ the same, except the dreams never did him justice in the muscle department, because damn, he was filled out nicely. He wore blue boots, a blue tank top that had a hole right above his belt that showed off his abs. His belt had the exact same symbol that was on my amulet that was currently hidden in my bra; my shirt was currently ripped all over the place, and the mutants would've seen the amulet and, more than likely, would have confiscated it.

Suddenly, I heard explosions, and smoke filled the air, sending both of us into coughing fits, and then, suddenly, I lost all control over myself.

~3RD PERSON P.O.V.~

The smoke was actually a chemical gas, created specifically to send its victims into a more primitive version of themselves, and so the mutants pumped the gas into the cells before retreating to a more safe area, in hopes that the brutemen would finish off the cat-man. What they didn't know was that the man they wanted eliminated was nowhere near the brutemen, but was actually in the cell with the human female.

The man looked at the woman and snarled, a predatory command, and she growled back, refusing to back down. They glared at each other before the man leaped at her, wanting to force her into submission; he would have her, whether she consented or not. She dodged, and he crashed into the wall, leaving the way to freedom open. She darted out, and behind her she heard a roar bounce off the stone walls and echo around her; the man was beyond pissed that his prey had escaped him.

She sped up as fast as she could, but when she rounded a corner, she ran outside into a courtyard, where there were several brutemen who were also affected by the gas, and when they saw her, they lunged at her. Suddenly, pounding footsteps came from behind her and as she turned to look, the lion-man from earlier jumped over her head, and pushed her away from the angry creatures before leaping into the bunch and began knocking them out one by one.

Once they all lied on the floor, unconscious but alive, he turned to her, standing up straight, and growled at her, expecting obedience. She snarled at him, too headstrong to bow down, and he bent halfway, as he circled her, and vice versa. The mutants merely watched, surprised at this change in events, as three more figures appeared; a male tiger, a male panther, and a female cheetah.

"Lion-O, snap out of it!" The tiger yells, but to no avail as the lion leaped at the human woman; his call is merely ignored, as the female is pinned underneath the other, due to her injuries finally taking their toll on her.

The man, Lion-O, snarled at the woman underneath him, before piercing her shoulder with his fangs, causing the woman to let out a yelp-like scream before suddenly going limp; the man had won and so she was showing submission. As he lapped up the blood, a strong breeze suddenly blew through the yard, and the human female regained her senses as the rest of the gas was blown away, clearing their systems.

~EMMA'S P.O.V.~

When I was able to regain control, I wasn't sure what to do, seeing as how the lion-man from my dreams had me pinned and was currently licking the bite wound that he had inflicted upon my left shoulder. I couldn't blame him, because he had lost control of himself due to that gas, whatever it was. The gas had caused us to smehow lose control of our civilized minds, and had reverted to animals made of pure instinct. I stayed still, not wanting to make a move in case I might upset him, when I suddenly felt him stiffen.

He suddenly pulled away from my shoulder and when our eyes met, his eyes were filled with shock and was locked on something. I followed his gaze, and when I found what he was staring at, I stopped breathing; my amulet had somehow fallen out of my bra and was lying on my shoulder. His eyes were locked on the symbol before they jerked back to my face. Yells sounded out, which caused the lion-man to jump up off of me and it provided me with the opportunity to get up and take off into the woods, my breath ragged as my broken ribs protested the movement.

"Wait, come back!" I heard him shout out from behind me, but I kept going; I had to get away so that I could gather my thoughts, and I wasn't going to be able to do that around them.

I kept running until I lost my footing and fell, head first, into a river. My strength having been spent from the run, I allowed the river to take me downstream until my tired body bumped against land. I grabbed onto the bank, and slowly crawled out about halfway before my arms gave out. The sun wasn't as harsh as it had been before, so I just lied there, my legs still in the water while my upper half was drying on the grass. I must have drifted off a little bit because I heard shouting and I weakly lifted my head to see several figures running towards me. As they got closer, I was able to see that they looked to be large teddy bear-shaped robots.

"Someone _is_ in the river, and it's a girl!" One cried in a robotic voice.

"Hurry; she looks injured!" Another called out and as they reached my side, I lost the battle against unconsciousness and my head hit the river bank as I faded to black.

* * *

Yes, I may not have done the full episode, but that's because I don't know where the first two discs of my season one of ThunderCats is at the moment. Anyway, I hope chapter two was good; I'm staying up late, even on school nights, working on this story, trying to make up for my long absence. Please read and review and let me know how I can make this story better!

I edited this chapter so that Emma is rescued by the Berbils instead of the ThunderCats, which means that she won't really get to meet them until the next chapter, and I also removed WilyKit and Kat from the end but I added them into the scene where Emma's getting beat by the mutants. Also, I am changing the chapters around a little bit; since Trouble with Time technically takes place before Pumm-Ra because Panthro informs Tygra that Lion-O took to the ThunderTank like a fish to water in Pumm-Ra, and yet Lion-O hadn't had a driving lesson yet in Trouble with Time, which aired after Pumm-Ra, so I'm switching those two episodes. If I find more, I'll let you guys know before I switch them around.


	3. Trouble With Time

Grrr! I had half of this damn chapter typed out, but it somehow wasn't saved; SON OF A BITCH! **Sighs** SO, I'm having to re-do it, and I noticed from one of my reviewers that they asked for Lion-O's point of view, so I'm thinking, why not? Might as well do it now! This chapter is all about the "Trouble With Time" episode since, like I said in the previous chapter, that some of the episodes are a little... out of order, in my opinion. Anyway, Cheetara, would you mind doing the disclaimer?

Cheetara: Certainly. **ROSEWHIP889 DOES NOT OWN THUNDERCATS OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS; SHE MERELY OWNS THE OCS AND THE NON-THUNDERCAT PLOTLINES.**

 _ **WARNING: There IS a lemon in this chapter, but only during the first dream part, so if you don't wanna read it, then skip the first dream!**_

Summary: Ever since she turned 21, Emma Rossin has had weird dreams of a cat-like man on a strange planet. Then she is one day captured by mutants and taken to Third Earth to work as a slave alongside the brutemen. When the ThunderCats arrive to rescue the brutemen, she escapes but is injured in the process. When she is found, she is found by none other than the man who has been haunting her dreams! It is then she finds out why she's been dreaming of him; it is her duty to protect and keep him safe. Can she do this _and_ keep from falling in love with the strange lion-like man, or is it already too late? Rated M for blood, adult language, innuendoes, violent scenes, and lemons. Lion-O/OC.

* * *

Action

"Talking"

 _'Thinking'_

 _Dream sequences_

The Lion's Protector and Mate

Chapter Three: Trouble With Time

~STORY START~

~DREAM START~

~LION-O'S P.O.V.~

 _I circled the human girl as she held her double-bladed naginata firmly in her grasp, eyes not even straying from mine. She mirrored my moves, as we paced in the forest._

" _It's your move." I said, and she narrowed her eyes before pausing and then lunging at me, bringing one blade down towards my head._

 _I brought up the claw shield, and the blade collided with it, sparks jumping from the two metals colliding with each other. She pressed down on her weapon, applying more weight to which I responded by pushing back and she stumbled back a few steps before steadying herself, but I pressed with my own attack, and she was forced to begin defending herself. I had her on defense for a good 100 minutes before she ducked one of my attacks, fell to the ground and swept my feet out from underneath me. I fell onto my back and when she jumped towards me, I rolled out of the way and sprang to my feet as she charged me again. I spun and, using the claw shield, knocked her weapon out of her hand and then pinned her against the forest floor. She struggled to get free, even trying to push me off of her, before she finally gave up after 5 minutes, and stared at me, her amber eyes narrowed in annoyance with her light yellow-almost white-hair fanned out underneath her head._

" _Can you_ please _get up? You're crushing me with your bigger frame." She said, and I laughed before standing up and offering her a hand. She grudgingly took it and I pulled her up to her feet._

" _You are getting better, though. You kept up with me for a little longer this time." I said and she growled as she picked up her naginata before sheathing it._

" _Yeah, well,_ 'better' _isn't good enough; I'm your Protector! I need to be able to protect you without a freaking problem!" She was pissed, I could tell, but I think it was mostly because of the fact that she believed that she was_ slowly _getting better, and she believed that she should already be where she needed to be._

" _You just recently healed from the latest mutant attack, my dear, and let's not forget about the precious passenger that you're carrying." I said and she gave me an unamused look; uh-oh. Please don't tell me about that she was fixing to have a mood swing. Thankfully, her irritation seemed to fade as the sight of it left her face and she sighed._

" _You're right. It's just... frustrating, because I feel as if I can't do_ anything _to help out around the lair, I can't seem to be able to do my Protector duties properly because I'm almost_ always _getting hurt, and now I'm carrying our child, making me_ even more _useless!" She said before sitting down on the ground and placing her head in her hands. Sighing, I walked over and sat down beside her before reaching up and, effortlessly, picking her up and bringing her over to sit in my lap. She twisted around to where her right shoulder was facing me while she sullenly stared out at the forest._

" _I realize that you're frustrated and that you feel useless, but I hope you realize that you are the exact opposite; you are not only currently carrying the next generation of ThunderCats, but you are also carrying_ my _child, and I believe in your ability to handle yourself. But I'm only concerned about the safety of both of you, so please bear with me." I said, pulling her against my chest and wrapping one arm around her shoulders while my other arm fell down and I rested my hand against the small bump that was just starting to protrude underneath her shirt._

" _I know, but I can't help feeling like I need to do_ something _to help out!" She exclaimed before turning around and pressed her face into my chest. With the bump firmly pressed against me, I was gentle as I hugged her. We sat there for a while before she sighed and repositioned herself; her back was now pressed against my chest and both of my hands settled on the bump._

" _I must admit, this is nice; being able to just relax without anyone screaming our names." I said, breaking the silence and she leaned her head back against my shoulder so that she could see me._

" _Yeah, you're right. Wanna know one thing that sucks, no matter_ where _I go?" She asked and I raised an eyebrow as I met her gaze._

" _What's that?"_

" _These god-forsaken hormones and their damn near constant surging!" She growled, irritation flashing on her face before she wriggled around some more, and I shifted as her wriggling bgean to turn me on. "Bad time for them to surge." She growled again and I wrapped my arms around her, effectively trapping her against my chest._

" _Oh, I don't know. We could make this a good time." I said, my arousal evident as my voice turned into a growl towards the end of the sentence, and she shivered._

" _I am not... going to give into... my hormones..." She said before changing her mind and somehow twisting around to face me so that she could plant her lips on mine in a heated kiss._

 _My hands snaked up the back of her shirt and I lightly dug my claws in, causing her to break the kiss and gasp for air. I lied back and pulled her with me so that she was on top, straddling my hips. I placed my right palm against her face and she nuzzled it before leaning down and, as carefully as she could with the bump, gave me another heated kiss. I moved my hands down to her pants and started undoing them as her hands moved up to my shirt._

 _Breaking the kiss, we didn't take long to take off our restricting clothes and soon we were as nude as the day that we were born. Kissing again, she aligned herself and then slowly lowered herself onto my aching shaft and we both moaned; by Thundera, she was wet and tight, no matter how many times we've done this! She slowly began moving, angling herself before lifting up and then sitting back down, causing me to slide deeper within her. I grapsed her hips and then gently rolled us over so that she was below me. I started moving my hips slowly and she moaned, her hands flying up to grasp my biceps. Each movement seemed to make her take me in even more than before, and I was starting to lose my mind, even though we had only just gotten started._

 _I soon sped up and she brought her hands down to entangle them with mine and soon I was all but slamming my hips against hers, our moans growing louder as I took her right there on the forest floor. She bucked her hips, and I slid in even deeper, causing her to gasp and her back to arch up off the ground._

" _There! Do... that... again." She managed to gasp out and I complied, releasing one of her hands so that I could I snake my right arm underneath her back to support and comply with her demands. By this time, all coherent thought was lost and the only thing that I could focus on was her. I could tell that she was reaching her peak by the way that she was clamping around me, but I was also reaching my end as well. As I pulled out, I shoved my hips forward so that I went in so deep that we were pretty much one being and her eyes snapped closed as her body stiffened and her walls clamped down on me, pulsatng. I stiffened as I reached my peak and filled her with my essence as her walls milked me for all that I was worth._

" _Lion-O..." She gasped out and I buried my nose into her neck._

" _E-"_

~END DREAM~

BANG BANG BANG. My eyes snapped open and as I shot up into a sitting position, I could feel _it_ straining against the fabric of my underwear. I moved the blanket to take a look, and glared as there was a wet spot.

"Lion-O, get up!" It was Panthro, and I quickly covered myself back up. "The Berbil village just called; they have an injured person and apparently they're not healing properly." He said and I panted softly.

"All right Panthro; just give me a bit to get ready." I said and I heard him walk away. As soon as his footsteps were out of hearing range, I growled under my breath; what in Thundera?! AGAIN?! It's been at _least_ four months since we crashed here, but even before that... While I was in the susension capsule, I started having dreams involving that girl. At first, I just thought that it was my imagination gone wild, but then last month I had seen her at Castle Plun-Darr, and I was shocked to see that she was actually real. Not only that, but she seemed stunned to see me as well! Getting out of bed, I stalked over to the dresser and grabbed some clothes before heading into the shower to get rid of... my problem. Once that was taken care of, I quickly ran out and down to the front door to meet up with Panthro. Once I was outside, I noticed that he was waiting by the ThunderTank; was I going to be able to drive it as my driving lesson?!

"Lion-O, there you are! Come on, get in; Ro-Bear Bill sounded pretty urgent over the phone." Panthro said as he jumped into the driver seat and I tried not to let my disappoint show; oh well.

"How badly injured is the person?" I asked as I jumped into the passenger seatand Panthro gunned the ThunderTank in response; wow, it must be bad if Panthro is acting like this.

"The wounds on the person have become infected, and they keep calling a certain name out in their sleep, but Ro-Bear Bill wouldn't tell me who. If this person is as bad as I think, then we're going to need Cheetara and the kittens to go and find some herbs." He said grimly, and a sudden chill settled on me; this was serious. After about 10 minutes, we pulled up to the Berbil village, and Ro-Bear Belle was there to greet us.

"ThunderCats, thank heavens you're here. She's just not responding to our medicine, and she keeps calling out for her 'lion man'." She said and both Panthro and I stiffened; lion man?! She wasn't talking about... me, was she? And who was this girl that Ro-Bear Belle was talking about?

"Lead the way, Ro-Bear Belle." Panthro said, and she led us into the building closest to use and led us to a room all the way in the back with the doorway covered by a thick blanket. When we walked into the room behind her, Panthro swore while I froze in shock; it was the girl that Kit and Kat saw at Castle Plun-Darr!

Her hair was limp and stuck against the side of her face, matted with sweat and blood, giving a sickly look to it. Her skin was almost completely devoid of color with the exception of her cheeks,which were bright red from sickness. Her face was covered in sweat and her breath was labored, as if she was unable to get enough oxygen. Her chest was wrapped in bandages and a blanket covered her from stomach down, but what concerned me were the bandages being bright red.

"Panthro... what should we do?" I asked, and the girl gasped as her eyes flew open. Her head turned towards me and, with dull eyes, stared right at my face.

"Lion... man..." She managed to get out before her eyes slipped closed and she shuddered.

"Lion-O, we need to get her back to Cat's Lair, and fast; otherwise, she's not going to make it. I'll get the Thunder Tank ready, and you grab the girl." He ordered and then vanished.

Walking over, I knelt down and carefully slid my arms underneath her; her back was bare save for the bandages, and her skin was hot to the touch. She shivered as some of the cool morning air hit her skin, and I quickly brought her up to my chest, where she curled up against me and her left hand rested against my chest. She shivered again and I covered her up before darting out to the ThunderTank and jumping in it.

"Back to Cat's Lair, Panthro, and quickly!"  
~EMMA'S P.O.V.~  
~ENTER DREAM~

 _I was surrounded by nothing but darkness, and I didn't like it; the darkness felt too oppressive, too ominous, too... silent. I looked around, hoping to see something other than darkness, but to no avail._

" _Hello! Can anyone hear me?!"I cried out, but there was no answer. I began to panic and started to run, for I didn't like the silence; it reminded me too much of my time in the mutants' "care". Out of nowhere, a blue light filled the space and I was forced to shield my eyes._

" _Hello, Emma." I heard a male voice and when I unshielded my eyes, I saw a male jaguar standing in front of me, with blue light surrounding his. He wore what looked to be a loin cloth that had been neatly trimmed and had a strip of fabric going up his stomach and chest, connecting to a cloak and a horned helmet adorned his head. Sitting on his chest was the same roaring cat symbol that was on my pendant._

" _Am I... dead?" I asked and he laughed._

" _No, young Emma, you are not. You are severely injured, but not dead, and if the ThunderCats have anything to say about it, you're not going to die, either." He said firmly and I jolted in shock; do what?!_

" _I'm sorry, but what?! How do_ you _know about them?! I thought that they only existed in my dreams!" I exclaimed and he gave me a kind smile._

" _I am Jaga, young Emma, and you have a great destiny that awaits you. Unfortunately, that is all that I can tell you at this time. Just know that whenever you need help, all you need do is ask, young one." He said and I just gaped at him._

" _Seriously?! That's all that you can tell me right now?!" I exclaimed and he gave me a patient smile; damn, this dude acted like someone who was used to giving people advice._

" _Peace, young Emma. You will not be alone, for you will have the ThunderCats-Cheetara, Lion-O, Panthro, Tygra and the kittens WilyKat and WilyKit to help you on your journey." He said and I froze in place; Lion-O..._

" _Lion-O... you mean the lion man that I've been dreaming of? That's his name?" I asked and Jaga nodded._

" _That is correct, young one. You are meant to be his Protector, and that is not a duty to be taken lightly. You will face all kinds of danger on your path, but just remember that you are not alone, even during the times where you feel like you are. When you are healed, your training will begin. Until then, heed these words; never lose faith in yourself, and always trust in your judgement."He said before wrapping himself up in his cloak and vanishing._

" _Wait, come back! Don't leave me here...alone..."I said, raising my hand towards the darkness, before lowering it. Sitting down, I just stared at my lap before I was suddenly enveloped in white.  
~_END DREAM~

My eyes refused to open, and I was surrounded by movement. Occasionally, I would feel pressure as if someone was touching me, but I couldn't really feel anything besides heat; the heat that seemed to encompass my entire body and felt as if my body had been set aflame.

"Cheetara, she feels as if she's burning up!" I heard a young girl claim, and I moaned when a cold hand rested softly on my head.

"You're right, WilyKit. WilyKat, go and get Tygra and tell him that you need to find these herbs." I heard an older woman say before the sound of pencil on paper filled the air and then footsteps scampering out of the room before I faded into darkness again.

The next time my mind returned to consciousness, heat was mostly gone, but the pain was still there.

Struggling against the pain, I finally managed to open my eyes and immediately saw that I was in a completely white room. With a small grunt of pain, I was able to push myself up into an upright position. Looking myself over, I noticed that my left arm was sporting a splint and was bound against my chest. Breathing was hard; my chest felt as if I'd been mule kicked by a horse before said horse sat on me. I lowered my head but hissed in pain as I felt the junction between my neck and right shoulder flared with heat.

Taking a deep breath, I lowered my head slowly and noticed that I was bare except for my chest being bandaged from top to waist, a bandage sitting on the right junction of my neck, and my legs were covered with a sheet. Picking the sheet up, I noticed that I was wearing a pair of loose white pants and I heaved a sigh; at least I wasn't completely naked. Looking around, I noticed a window with daylight shining through it, and so I slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed. Slowly and carefully pushing myself up, I went to take a step and my knees buckled, sending me to the floor.

"OW! Son of a bitch, that hurts!" I cussed, my kness throbbing and I growled in aggravation; dammit! Taking a deep breath, I turned and grabbed the bed with my right hand. Sighing, I pulled myself back onto the bed and stared hard at the wall; I'm pretty sure that I was no longer at Castle Plun-Darr since the mutants didn't care whether their slaves lived or not, so how did I get here? Suddenly, the memories came flying back, and my eyes widened; that's right! The lion from my dreams had busted the Brutemen and I from our cells before the mutants released some weird ass gas, which made all of us lose our shit. As I sat there, pondering where the hell I was at, I heard a car start up outside; huh. I got up, my legs less shaky that before, and walked over to the window in time to see a silver car go flying over a drawbridge, and then go wild; oh shit! I headed for the door, and semi-ran, semi-walked, out, trying to find the front door.

As I approached a door, I saw a male blue panther run out of a room and I followed him outside. I stopped and sat down on the steps as he jumped off the steps, and followed the car. He jumped in front of it and as it came bearing down at him, he jumped up and landed inside of it; color me impressed. As it came to a stop near a ravine that I just noticed, I gingerly sat down with the wall right next to my right shoulder so that I could lean against it. It sat there for a couple minutes before it drove away from the edge and made its way across a drawbridge that I didn't even see; dammit I was seriously slacking! The car came to a stop in front of the steps, with its back facing the steps, and the panther jumped out. The panther took a couple steps before turning around to face it.

"The trouble with joy riding is that it uses up Thundrillium, and we're starting to run short." He said, his words carrying, as said-joy rider jumped out and I nearly choked on my spit when I saw a familiar scarlet mane; it was the lion from my dreams!

"We brought a supply from Thundera, didn't we?" The lion asked.

"Not enough to last us that much longer, so we'll need to look around to see if any exists on this planet." The panther replied. Resting my head against the wall as the warm sun started to make me sleepy, I closed my eyes for a couple minutes, enjoying the feeling, before opening them again, only to see both panther and lion disappear under... an upraised paw?! Okay, _now_ I'm curious. Slowly standing up, I made my way down the steps, walked over to the bridge, and then turned around, only to gape in amazement; holy shit!

The building that was sitting in front of me was basically a large cat. The body was white with the same emblem sitting on its chest. The head was blue, the eyes were red, and its mouth was open in a roar. The paws were blue as well, and from the one being raised up, I'm assuming that the other paw could do the same.

"Whoa..." I said, not able to think of another word, before I heard a shout.

"HEY! What in the blazes are you doing out here?!" Blinking, I looked towards the paw to see that neither the panther nor the lion had gone inside, as I had thought. Both came racing over and my muscles tensed; what were they going to do?!

"You were seriously injured when we brought you here from the Berbil Village; you have any idea as to how long you were out?!" The panther exclaimed, and I blinked in shock, my muscles relaxing; huh?!

"Um... no? Who are the Berbils, and where the hell am I?" I asked and the lion blinked.

"What's the last thing that you remember?" He asked carefully, his face an open book; he was worried.

"The mutants releasing some kind of weird gas that made everyone down in the dungeons go insane, including... The Brutemen! Are they still slaves at the castle?!" I asked frantically, my muscles tensing again out of worry for them due to the fact that they were so gentle they literally couldn't hurt a fly.

"They're fine; we set them free after we sent the mutants packing." The panther said and I sighed in relief.

"That's good." I said before my knees buckled; guess that's all I had for strength.

My butt didn't even have the chance to hit the ground before the lion's arms were swooping underneath me and the next thing I knew, I was being cradled against his chest.

"Easy now; you've been unconscious for about four weeks. You need to take it easy." The panther said, and I looked at him in shock; do what?!

"I've been out for almost a month?!" I exclaimed and the panther nodded.

"The kittens have been constantly checking up on you; I bet they'll be glad to know that you're doing better." He said and then something seemed to have occured to him, because he began to rub his chin. "You know, we haven't introduced ourselves. Lion-O, take her to the council room so that we can all introduce ourselves and we won't be strangers to each other." He suggested. I looked up and watched as Lion-O nodded.

"Um... Can I get down? I wanna walk; otherwise it'll take even longer for me to get my strength back." I said as Lion-O began heading for the building and he shook his head.

"I'd rather carry you so that you won't potentially fall and hurt yourself." He said and I groaned before leaning my head against his chest; I could feel and hear his heart beat against the right side of my face.

"Thank you... for saving me from the mutants." I said, my face growing warm as I kept my eyes off of him, which meant that if he looked down at me, I wouldn't know.

"You're welcome. How long did they have you as a slave?" He asked as he reached the bottom of the stairs; I shifted my right shoulder to try and make it easier for him to breathe.

"I'm not... entirely sure. All I know is that a few weeks before they snatched me from my planet, I had just turned 21." I said and he paused. I looked up at him, confused, only to see him staring at me with his eyes thoughtful.

"When is your birthday?" He asked. **(A/N: I'm gonna use actual months since time wasn't exactly discussed in the show.)**

"My birthday is May 8th; why?" I asked and his eyes widened.

"It's... It's October." He said and shock filled my body; what?!

"I've been...in mutant hands... for 5 months?" I asked and fell into my thoughts.

I was dimly aware of Lion-O setting me down and then I lost track of time as I fell into my thoughts; I'd seriously been away from my home for 5 months?! Apparently, I'd completely lost track of time because a hand landing on my shoulder caused me to jerk out of my head and my eyes flew up to meet worried scarlet eyes; Lion-O was looking at me.

"Are you okay?" He asked and I blinked before quickly shaking my head.

"I... I will be. It's a bit much to learn that I'd been snatched from my home and made into a slave for almost half a year." I said and heard multiple gasps. Looking around, I saw a full-grown female cheetah, a full-grown male tiger and a young set of wildcat twins-one boy and one girl-looking at me in a mixture of horror and pity.

"You... you were taken from your home? What planet was it? Maybe we can take you home eventually." The female wildcat said and I looked up, only to see that I'd been carried inside and was now in a large round room, sitting in a chair at a round table.

"My planet was called Xervas." I said and silence filled the room; I looked at everyone and noticed that everyone except for Lion-O was looking at each other nervously. The looks alone were enough to send dread and unease through me. "What... what's wrong?" I asked and the cheetah looked at me.

"Xervas... Xervas was destroyed 10 years ago." She said and I stiffened in shock and horror; do what?!

"Xervas was a neighboring planet for our own planet, Thundera, but when Thundera exploded, bits of Thundera slammed into Xervas, causing its destruction as well." The tiger said gently, and my blood stopped flowing; my planet...

"Grandma Terice... is gone?" I asked, coldness flooding my system and the panther looked at me sharply before looking at the cheetah.

"Cheetara, get ready; she looks like she's about to faint." He said, but he was wrong; I wasn't going to faint.

Instead, the cold faded, only to be replaced with white-hot rage. Because of those damned mutants, I could never go home. I can't blame these cat people, because of the fact that they couldn't control their planet blowing up, but I _could_ and I _would_ blame the mutants. My right hand tightened into a fist and started shaking as my anger only grew. Suddenly, a small hand came into view and rested softly onto my right hand; my head jerked up and my eyes rested on the girl wildcat with her brother right behind her.

"It's okay; I understand. Your planet is gone, as is your family, but it's okay; you have us, the ThunderCats, to help you with it." She said softly, and the rage was quenched as sorrow replaced it; my shoulders started quaking and I lowered my head as tears threatened to spill down my face. I faintly heard footsteps of people moving and the next thing I knew, two sets of small arms were wrapped around my shoulders and that did it; I lost control and tears were spilling down my cheeks as my shoulders began quaking, my mind swept up in the sorrow and loss of my last family member; both of my parents had been only children, and I had been an only child as well. I'm not sure as to how long I'd been crying, but it felt like an eternity when my eyes finally ran dry and I sniffled, not knowing when I had closed my eyes, and opened them to see that the other adults had left and the two wildcat kids were the ones hugging me.

"Are you feeling better?" The girl said and I shook my head, wiping my eyes with my right hand.

"No, but the loss never completely goes away; it just becomes easier with time." I said and the boy looked at me.

"Have you lost family members before?" He asked and I nodded.

"Yeah; my parents were killed about 13 years ago when the mutants attacked my planet." I said and the girl scowled.

"Those stinking mutants! Why can't they just leave people alone?!" She demanded and I shrugged before my belly released an enormous growl; my face turned red as the kids laughed.

"We should probably get her something to eat, WilyKit." The boy said and I looked at them.

"I'm so sorry; I've completely forgotten my manners. My name is Emma Rossin." I said and the kids smiled.

"I'm WilyKat and this is my sister WilyKit." The boy said and I held my right hand out; they reached out as well and clasped my hand.

"It's nice to meet you guys. Now, about some food?" I said, sad that I was never going to be able to see my great-grandmother again but knowing that if I fell into a depression because of it she would find a way to leave the afterlife to come and kick my ass, so as hard as it would be, I was determined to leave my grief behind.

"We'll show you to the kitchen. Normally Snarf cooks, but he's gone with Lion-O and the others to try and find some fuel for the lair." WilyKit said as I stood up.

"Lead the way." I said with a flourish and WilyKit giggled as WilyKat led the way out of the room. Occasionally, I had to stop to rest because it was easy for me to get winded, but we eventually made it to the kitchen where I was forced to sit down as the twins brought me strange colored fruit and then sat down next to me before asking me questions.

For the next few hours, I sat there in the kitchen, talking to the kittens and answering their questions. I lost track of time and was so enamored in listening to the kittens in describing to me what Thundera was like before it blew up that when the kitchen door slid open, all three of us jumped; my head spun around as I instinctively placed my body between the door and the kids, only to blink in shock as the adults walked in, with a weird cat creature sitting on Lion-O's shoulder.

"Oh, here you guys are! We were wondering where you three were." The tiger said and I relaxed, only noticing now that my body was not liking all the moving around that I've been doing.

"Tygra, is it me or do you look a little... younger?" WilyKat asked and the tiger Tygra started laughing.

"I prefer being younger to how old I'd gotten only two hours ago." He said and my jaw dropped; do what?!

"Um... how the hell is that possible?" I asked and Lion-O looked at me.

"There's a place called the Cave of Time that causes whoever enters it to age drastically. We were able to save Tygra when Cheetara ran in, grabbed him and brought him out. Then, we had to take him to the Geyser of Life to restore him to his proper age." Lion-O said and I blinked in shock.

"Wow... Are your days usually _this_ eventful?" I asked and he laughed, causing the cat creature to almost fall off his shoulder.

"Lion-O, be careful! I'm sitting up here, you know!" The creature scolded in a male voice and I jumped in shock; it can talk?!

"Oh, sorry Snarf." Lion-O said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, and I looked at the twins in confusion.

"Um... Clarification, please?" I asked and WilyKat looked at me.

"Emma, this is Lion-O, Lord of the ThunderCats. Sitting on his shoulder is his longtime nanny Snarf. That's Panthro, Cheetara, and Tygra." He said, pointing to each one in turn and I nodded. "ThunderCats, this is Emma." He finished and Cheetara smiled kindly at me.

"How are you feeling, Emma?" She asked and I yawned, surprised at how tired I suddenly felt; how late was it?

"I'm actually starting to get a little tired." I said, and she nodded.

"You're still healing, so that's to be expected. Kits, why don't you show her to her room?" She asked Kit and Kat-as they've asked me to call them-and they both nodded.

"Sure thing, Cheetara. Come along Emma." Kit said and I followed them after bidding everyone else night. Once the kits led me to my room and bid me night, I walked in and walked over to the bed.

Looking at it, I carefully sat down, and manuvered myself underneath the blanket, curled up on my right side, before promptly passing out.

* * *

I am SO SORRY for the long wait! My daughter usually has control over the laptop at night and I work during the day. Well, chapter 3 is done! As always, let me know what you think!


	4. Apology

Rosewhip889: I am SO SORRY for my absence! Unfortunately, the motherboard in my laptop died, so I'm having to use my phone because I don't have access to another one, which sucks balls because I was halfway done with the third chapter of this story! *growls* Damn technology… I'm not sure when I'll have it up and running, so please be patient and bear with me!

Thank you to everyone who reads and enjoys my stories!


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